Lakers Silence "Roaracle" With Convincing Win vs. Warriors

Welcome in to the first full recap in a long while for the Lakers' most-anticipated Christmas Day matchup vs. the Golden State Warriors where the Lakers put the clamps on the Warriors for the most part of the game and they blew it open in the 4th quarter, sending bitter Warriors fans home in a 127-101 rout.

From me to the rest of my Lakers fans, Merry Christmas. Hope you guys had a chance to spend time with your family and watch a couple of great NBA games. And this one was a beauty to watch. We've heard the media talk about the Lakers that when it comes in comparison with the Warriors, the Lakers are more the inferior team even if they have LeBron James. I could not believe that despite that the Lakers team taking the same Warriors team to the limit in three out of four competitive games last season, they were getting disrespected. The Warriors will handle them with ease, they said. Clearly, they did not watch the tape. The downfall on the Lakers against the Warriors last year was that they didn't have LeBron James nor any gutsy veterans that thrive in big game moments to close games out. Now, they have a plethora of them and we saw a very big difference between this year and last year. The Lakers were more than capable of giving the Warriors a handful. They have the blueprint of countering the Warriors near-invincible "small ball" with a tall and lengthy lineup and to expose them where they're most vulnerable: the paint. Now granted the latter point will change whether or not DeMarcus Cousins gets back to 100%, but the paint has been the achilles heel of the Warriors for a long time. The Lakers exposed that this game and they've successfully executed the anti-Warriors operation to perfection with a resounding victory that hopefully boosts their confidence from here on out.

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Ivica Zubac, 18 points, 11 rebounds, 9-10 shooting, 2 blocks. I'm impressed with Zubac's efforts the last few games. If we remember from last season, he looked like an absolute slouch his sophomore year. He was super slow in terms of quick, lateral movement and reaction time to a play. This season, he looks more conditioned and he's active on both side of the ball. Zubac is just at the right place at the right time, especially in screen and roll action. Let's be clear here, the Warriors without Boogie are vulnerable in the interior and Zubac did one hell of a job to expose that and just flat out dominate in the paint. Defense and rim protection was on point too. The Warriors just couldn't buy a bucket inside as Zubac made them work for it. He absolutely made them work for it and they couldn't get the right angle on the basket. Zubac's performance makes the Center position interesting again, especially once they get JaVale back from illness.

Rajon Rondo, 15 points, 10 assists, 6-11 shooting. Thank goodness Rondo recovered in time from his hand surgery to put up this throwback, virtuoso performance. When LeBron went down, it looked like things were gonna go South for the Lakers. The Warriors just turned a big Laker lead into a 4-point game in the 3rd quarter. I was like "uh-oh, not this again." Rajon Rondo kept the situation under control with his leadership and tenacity as a pure floor general. If he needed to score, he kept attacking the paint. I remember when he was playing with the Celtics, he used to fluster me as a Laker fan when he blew by Derek Fisher and the teeth of the Laker defense then to get to the hoop. That's the same thing that happened tonight and I was on the other end of cheering. Life works in mysterious ways guys. Playoff Rondo came to play tonight.

Lance Stephenson, 11 points, 4-6 shooting, 3 three pointers. Make 'em dance Lance! He made an impact off the bench with a triplet of on-point three pointers. Two of them he connected to balloon the Laker lead. The third one was much needed when the Warriors were going on their typical monster run in the 3rd quarter to put the lead back up by nine points.

Warriors foul trouble. I think getting the Warriors in foul trouble early on was a big difference maker this game, especially getting two out of their big four to sub out early. Draymond Green and Steph Curry had to go out because they committed two fouls early. Green fouled out. He was a non-factor. Steph Curry had 5 fouls. He almost gave us a scare in the third quarter, but luckily he wasn't able to get that much into rhythm with his quick release. LeBron helped trigger most of that contact and why he was able to get most of his points from the free throw line.

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Third quarter. In-game, this was a significant negative. When LeBron went out, the Lakers momentum fizzled out. The Warriors were able to get on a run sparked by Curry's two 3-pointers. The Lakers saw their 15-point lead evaporate into a 4-point game at one point of this quarter. That is until Rondo, Lance, and Ingram came in and settled things down with a couple of buckets.

LeBron James' groin injury. We all know LeBron is the definition of Most Valuable Player because when he's on the floor, he brings a different edge for the team. When he's not there, the team just doesn't know what to do. LeBron awkwardly split his legs and knees while he was diving for a loose ball in the 3rd quarter. According to him, he heard something pop and never returned to the game. He tried stretching it out, but clearly something was bothering him. From what I heard, it's nothing serious. But, groin injuries can be really tough to evaluate, especially when it comes to NBA players. We hope LeBron gets well soon. But how this game went, this should give some confidence to this team that they can step in without his presence.


MVP

Rajon Rondo, 15 points, 10 assists, 6-11 shooting

Lonzo Ball still has a long ways to go to reach like that of Rondo's PG stature. It was tough to choose between either Rondo or Zubac. But, Rondo was the glue to keep this team poised as he controlled the flow of the offense and got players to get on their assignment on defense. As Chris Webber would shout: "RONDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...."


Conclusion

Okay back to reality, it's just one game against the Warriors. But this win should have the Lakers' confidence soar at an all-time high. They came into a very hostile crowd, going up against the 2x defending champs. And they took the air out of the building with a very convincing win without the best player in the world for 1 1/2 quarters. If we've been following, consistency is the Lakers' biggest ailment. They beat some of the best teams, but they lose to some inferior teams. Hopefully, this game is a harbinger for the Lakers to build some consistency. They're 33 games into the season now, things should've gotten figured out this game. At the same time, this sends a message that the Lakers are coming back and they will do whatever it takes to regain that status among the NBA's gold standard. This was fun to cover for one night. Given my tight schedule now, I won't be around to do as much open thread and full recap. Hence why I implemented the Weekly Roundup posts. Don't worry, I'm not abandoning the blog. I'm still the following the games. I have a life outside this blog and I couldn't do much as I used to back in the day. But I'm still around. Look for the Weekly Roundup post for this week by next Monday. I will post up an all new chapter of the "Silver and Black Shitshow" by tomorrow night. I can confirm that this week's chapter is the last chapter of that segment. I feel it was only fitting since last night was the last game at the Oakland Coliseum against the Denver Broncos. On top of that, I'll see you guys later.

12/25: NBA Christmas Special - LAKERS @ Warriors 2nd Half Open Thread and Discussion

2nd half open thread of the Lakers-Warriors Christmas Day matchup. As usual, leave a comment below and share your thoughts on the game.

Q4

LAL 127 GSW 101

When it looked like all hope was lost when LeBron went down, in comes Rondo to save the day! Great team effort all-around. Everybody stepped up when needed the most. That third quarter was quite a scare and we're like, yup just another run. But, Rondo played some peacemaker to control the game. Playoff Rondo was in full display. Zubac too contributed. I know it's three games in since he made the start, but we might have ourselves a headache at the center position with Zubac and McGee. What a game. We Laker fans got ourselves a hell of a Christmas present. Stay tuned for the full recap!

Q3

LAL 91 GSW 82

Yes, that LeBron injury changed the whole momentum of the game. The Warriors won that quarter. The Lakers played a little out-of-control this quarter, which was pretty disappointing. It was the moment that the inexperience on this team was starting to show once again against the 2x defending champs. Luckily, Rondo and Ingram stepped up to control the Laker lead down the stretch. Both of them and Kuzma got to pick up the slack as if LeBron is not going to return for the rest of the game. Meanwhile, Lance Stephenson with a huge three to end the quarter helped as well. He continues to have a solid game from deep. 4th quarter without LeBron? Time to gauge the moxie of this young Lakers squad.

12/25: NBA Christmas Special - LAKERS @ Golden State Warriors 1st Half Open Thread and Discussion

Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas! Open thread is back for a day! 1st half of the Lakers-Warriors most anticipated matchup. Leave a comment below and share your thoughts on the game!

Q2

LAL 65 GSW 50

Tremendous half by the Lakers. I'm impressed with the way they controlled the tempo for the majority of this game. You're not going to beat the Golden State Warriors by playing undisciplined basketball. They will beat you. But, the Lakers stayed at home especially on the defensive end and that helped set up the fast paced offense. Even greater, players are stepping up. Lance Stephenson connected on a couple of huge threes to balloon the lead even further. They're feeding Zubac inside the paint. No McGee. Chandler is barely playing. Yet, Zubac is earning his minutes on both ends of the floor. Great start from Kuz and Ingram. Hope we get to see more as they gotta help take pressure off LeBron. But so far, looks like LeBron don't need them to do much as he's having his way against the Warriors. If you're wondering why the Warriors are getting into foul trouble, look no further. LeBron has put up point on the free throw line, which is a major difference. So far, so good against the Warriors. The only negative, Andre Iguodala is stepping up for the Warriors. He's surpisingly off to to a good start with a couple of threes. The Lakers have to do a better job accounting for him on defense when he's about to cut to the basket. We'll live with Iggy having a nice game rather than the combined scoring potency of Curry, Thompson, and Durant. They've had quite a funk this first half. Lakers have to keep pounding this team inside and if an open shot is there, take it. Defensively, stay disciplined and make the Warriors uncomfortable by forcing them to turn the ball over. This is far from over. The Lakers took them to the limit last year and couldn't finish. They have LeBron and a couple of veterans to help in that category this time around hopefully. The second half will open up shortly.

Q1

LAL 32 GSW 25

Great pace from the Lakers this game. When they started with a turnover that set up a KD three, I thought I sense that was going to be a microcosm for this game. But, the Lakers recovered and controlled the pace of the game. Very encouraging to see that B.I., Zo, Kuz, and Hart hit some threes early. Definitely they need to step up to take some pressure off LeBron. Speaking LeBron, he did a great job going to the free throw line early, putting the Warriors in early foul trouble. Draymond and Steph in particular, they were absent midway through the first quarter, which gave the Lakers a big time advantage to build this lead.

Warriors Sweep Lakers for the First Time Since 1993-94

Welcome in to the full recap of the Lakers' matchup vs. the Golden State Warriors where the Lakers could not follow up on an emotionally-draining Nuggets win last night as they lose to the Warriors 106-117. This win marks the first time the Lakers got swept by the Warriors in a regular season series since the 1993-94 season. And the Lakers missed the playoffs that season.

I was barely scratching the surface in my life the last time this happened. I can only look back at those two close losses in OT at Staples where the Lakers had an opportunity to get at least one game. But, it is what it is. This game was a true trap game for the Lakers. The Warriors didn't have Curry, Klay, or Draymond, but they still found a way to win with their depth. Clearly, the Lakers are light years behind to where we want them to be exactly like the Warriors are now.

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Brook Lopez, 20 points, 6 rebounds, 5 blocks, 8-15 shooting. Lopez started great from beyond the arc and then he regressed there. But, he racked up points with his inside game. The Warriors don't have a lot of bulk on the frontcourt, so that presented a favorable matchup for Brook. He also did it on the defensive end with the five block shots. He had a nice start on both ends during the first quarter when he went all the way for the layup and following it up with a block. That provided early blueprint for Lopez's solid game tonight.

Tyler Ennis, 12 points, 5-6 shooting. We have a love-hate relationship with Ennis. But, let's face it tonight, the Warriors reserves outscored the Laker reserves. Since Luke Walton put I.T. in the starting lineup, that presented a "who's who" on the 2nd unit. And Ennis in that fourth quarter provided some good scoring to spark a mini Lakers run, despite it being in vain as the Warriors continued to hit shots.

Julius Randle, 22 points, 10 rebounds. Like I said on Lopez's section, tonight presented a favorable matchup for Randle. Randle fouling out puts a damp on his performance, but he was pretty much the dependable guy to lean on to quell some of the Golden State momentum.

Isaiah Thomas, 20 points, 7 assists, 5-9 three pointers. I.T. was the only guy who can shoot it efficiently from deep. He was responsible for starting a couple of Laker scoring runs to keep the team in the game. Lakers could've used this performance if he was coming off the bench. But, Ingram out, Kuzma out, I.T. still put up big numbers at the expense of not leading the charge with the 2nd unit.

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Bench scoring. The final count is that the Warriors' 2nd unit racked up 39 points. The Lakers' 2nd unit put up 23 points. At one point, the disparency was evident with the Warriors outscoring the Lakers 25-2 in bench points. That's where the Warriors killed the Lakers there. Shaun Livingston picked up the scoring early on. Omri Cassipi got going after a slow start in the first half. Livingston presented a big time mismatch on I.T. Cassipi, the Laker defense could not account for him as he was just sneaking into the basket untouched.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. It's alarming that KCP is on a current cold shooting streak. He got hot late in the game, but it was already out of reach. Defensively, he got abused trying to guard Kevin Durant. KCP on KD was like a small kid picking on a big kid. Caldwell-Pope as good of a defender he is had all kinds of trouble with Durant's length tonight. Not to mention, he also committed some silly fouls defending the three point line to destroy some of the Lakers' momentum.

Lonzo Ball, 1-8 three point shooting. Zo stuffs the stats sheet somewhere else and he's been shooting the three ball better. But, if it's not working, get your shot going by being aggressive to the cup. Clearly, Zo can't buy a bucket from deep now. So, the logical conclusion for Lonzo is to attack the basket. He's still has long ways to go to find that scoring balance. But, everything else is fine for him.

MVP

Brook Lopez, 20 points, 6 rebounds, 5 blocks, 8-15 shooting

Based on how Lopez played tonight and put up numbers on both ends of the floor, he's the MVP of the game. He's not a big time shot blocker, but the five blocks from him were a rare sight to see.




Conclusion

We can't use the no B.I., no Kuz excuse for this one. The Warriors didn't have Curry, Klay, and Green. It would've been a different story if both teams were healthy. And like I said, the Warriors would likely get this game since they're making a playoff push. The Lakers are clearly on the rise and the Warriors will gradually head down their peaking point. Nowadays, it's hard to stay on top, especially when a team has been to three straight finals and won 73 games. That's a lot of minutes and wear and tear logged onto the players. Not to mention, the locked up Curry to a big money contract. KD as well. The Warriors are at that period of playing "keep as many as you can." But, enough with me providing some fact checks here. My Bay Area buddies who are longtime Warrior fans deserve this after being on the losing end for a long time. Seeing the Lakers get swept by the Warriors is gonna take some time to adjust to because it's a rare occurrence given the past fortunes of these two teams. Hopefully, it doesn't become a habit. I'll see you guys later.

03/14: LAKERS @ Warriors 2nd Half Open Thread and Discussion

This is the 2nd half open thread of the Lakers-Warriors matchup. As usual, leave a comment below and share your thoughts on the game.

Q4

LAL 106 GSW 117

Well, if there's anything that can be picked out in this game, the Warriors still have the more superior depth. Nothing the Lakers can hang their heads on, the West will be theirs when the Warriors start to decline. As I said, the Lakers have to contain everyone else outside of KD. But, Nick Young stepped it up as well as Quinn Cook and Omri Cassipi this game. That just ruined the Lakers' plan all-in-all to get this win. Warrior fans get the sweep of the Lakers they wanted and I know I'm not gonna hear the end of it from friends and co-workers here from the Bay. Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q3

LAL 82 GSW 89

The one thing that can be relied on the most is that the Lakers find ways to come back. This had "bad quarter" written all over it. Obviously, the scoring off the bench has been biggest difference. At one point, the Warriors' reserves outscored the Lakers' reserves 2-25 until Travis Wear hit a three and Ennis hit a couple of shots. Warriors also keep turning the ball over, which allows this Laker team to hang around and the Lakers' are gonna need more of that. Going back to the Warriors' run this quarter, the last thing the Lakers need is either Nick Young or Quinn Cook to get hot and that played a part in the Warriors building to a double-digit lead and hanging on to the 7 point lead at the end of the quarter.

03/14: LAKERS @ Golden State Warriors 1st Half Open Thread and Discussion

Welcome in to the first half open thread of the Lakers' road matchup vs. the Golden State Warriors off a back-to-back set. Leave a comment below and share your thoughts on the game.

Q2

LAL 55 GSW 55

That was some good awareness by Lonzo to end it. Broken play, but the Lakers will take it. KCP got doubled at the end and Zo was at the right place at the right time to nod this thing up at 55 a piece. I wouldn't be surprised if this game turns out to be a really slow game. The Warriors are hurting themselves with a couple of turnovers, but the Lakers are hurting themselves more with missed free throws, turnovers, and early foul trouble. They're not really taking full advantage of a very short-handed Warriors squad. But some positives to take here is that Brook Lopez, Julius Randle, and I.T. are carrying the scoring load on this team without B.I. or Kuz. Brook and I.T. had 15 points each. Randle had 13. Those are the Lakers' big 3 right now. They gotta keep feeding it inside with Lopez and Randle and I.T. and Zo have to continue to be aggressive to the cup. KCP vs. KD is a lopsided matchup. Durant is just using his length to his advantage to get any shot he wants. That's where the Lakers miss Ingram and Kuzma. Interesting enough, Lonzo at one point defended KD and did a decent job. Perhaps that's a defensive adjustment Luke Walton can implement. So far, it's a who's who with the way this game's going. Other Lakers have to step in to help Brook, Randle, and I.T. as it is working with the Warriors who are very dependent on Durant to get their offense running. The 2nd half will open up shortly.

Q1

LAL 23 GSW 26

Didn't like that last possession with I.T. dribbling it out as passing it to Derrick Williams for a contested three. I'm stressing this in the comments, the Lakers can live with Kevin Durant scoring at will. KCP defending him is a huge mismatch and KD's having his way. It's the other Warrior players they have to contain. They've stepped up and were actively moving the ball and cutting into the lane. The Lakers had no defense on that early on. Missed free throws were apparent. The turnovers too were a story, but the Warriors are giving it right back. This game could come down to whoever turns it over the most. But, the Lakers are hanging in there with good starts from Lopez and Randle.